While I normally put in a lot of internal links to previous, related posts here, I won’t be doing that for what I hope will be thirty NaNoWriMo posts. If you have jumped into or stumbled onto this story in mid-adventure, there are plenty of other ways to navigate around the site to find previous installments. Actually doing so is left as an exercise to the student.
As far as the NaNoWriMo part of this adventure goes, I verified today that I “won”. I got to go download my “official certificate” (a PDF where I can fill in my name, title, and date), I get lots of offers for T-shirts and coffee mugs and loot, and I got to download some icons:
It’s pretty “Super Mario Brothers” for me, but given how much I paid to join NaNoWriMo (i.e., nothing) I don’t have much room to bitch.
I don’t know what anti-motivation will knock me off track for a day (probably tomorrow or Friday) first: the holiday, putting up Christmas lights, working on the bedroom painting (yeah, that’s still dragging on), or just the letdown from having hit at least the NaNoWriMo “finish line”, even though the book is only about 2/3 done (I think).
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When he woke in the morning, Tom was confused at first, not sure where he was. He had spent a moderately restless night and waking up in a strange place didn’t help his mood. But as he started to move around in the bed and then stood up, the room lights came on. The previous day’s events flooded back.
He staggered through his morning routine and shower, still acutely aware of the security cameras. He would have to ask if they could be covered or removed, at least in that room.
It was still not fully light outside when he got to the kitchen and started fixing breakfast. He was half expecting Ellen and Morrison to burst in again so they could interrogate him as he ate, but he was left in peace. After eating he decided to wash the dishes and make the bed. The odds of there being housekeeping service seemed slim.
It was frustrating to be without his watch, wallet, and phone. They were things he always had with him. It felt odd to be reaching for his phone every five minutes for some need or the other, only to remember he didn’t have it. Lacking that, he really would like to have a notepad and pen at least, but even though he looked through every drawer and cabinet, he couldn’t find a thing.
It probably wouldn’t do to prick his finger with a knife and use the blood to write on the walls. But it was tempting.
About the time that he was going to start a second pass through the suite to try to find something to make notes with, he heard voices outside the front door. He looked out through the window and saw Ellen talking to Morrison. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it looked like an innocuous conversation. Over by the SUVs he could see Burly Dude #1 in the driver’s seat of one vehicle, while Burly Dude #2 was putting some sort of suitcase or tool box into the back.
Ellen and Morrison ended their conversation and split up. Morrison walked away toward the SUVs, which prompted Burly Dude #2 to open the passenger door for her. Ellen turned and headed toward Tom’s guest house. Tom went to the front door and opened it when he heard her footsteps on the gravel outside. She looked slightly surprised to find the door opening as she was reaching for the knob, but quickly hid it.
“Did you sleep alright last night?” Ellen asked as Tom shut the door behind her. She took off her coat and hung it on a hook by the door.
“I’ve had better,” Tom replied. “You?” He might as well keep it pleasant if he could.
“Thanks, but not so much. Your presence has made things…complicated, I guess. I’ll live. We need to talk now.” She moved toward one of the living room chairs.
Tom followed and sat on the couch across from her. “Sure, I’ve got a few things to bring up as well. For example, what’s with the security cameras in the bathroom? Can I get a roll of duct tape or a hammer so that I can get some privacy?”
“The security cameras in the bathroom are not there to watch you. I promise you that no one is watching the feeds from those cameras. They’re simply being monitored by an automated system. The computer doesn’t give a damn what you look like in the shower or on the toilet, nor does anyone else here. Sorry, but they stay.”
“What about my wallet, phone, camera, and the other stuff you took? When can I get all of those things back?”
“That’s still to be determined. Those are things I need to ask you about and then we’ll see where we go from there. First of all…”
Tom cut her off. “First of all, I have a couple more quick questions, if you don’t mind. If I can’t have my phone, can I at least get something to write with, a pad and pencil? Can I get a coat so that I can go outside and get at least a little exercise without freezing to death? And you said that I would be able to meet with Annie today. When will that be?”
Ellen sighed, then caught herself and regained her neutral attitude. “You’ll be getting a coat later when Annie comes over. It should be in about two hours, she’s not up yet. I’ll have someone bring you some pens and paper if you wish. Is there anything else?”
Tom could see that Ellen was really tired. He had gotten at least some concessions from her, but hesitated to push her any further. Tired people became angry people easily, and he was still locked up out here. Getting her angry with him wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing.
“No, I think that answers my questions for the moment. Thank you.”
“My turn then,” Ellen said. “I’ll try not to beat around the bush or play games. I would appreciate it if you could do the same.”
“I’ll tell you what I can,” Tom said, hoping that was an answer that left him some wiggle room. “Remember, I’m still here not entirely of my own free will. That makes it difficult to be completely trusting and open.”
“Let’s see if we can clear away some of that distrust,” Ellen said. “You have quite a collection of pictures on your camera, almost all of them from your balloon trip two days ago. Seven hundred and eighteen of them, in fact. But the only ones that show up on your phone are the forty-two that show this site. We do not believe that to be a coincidence. Can you confirm that your flight was to reconnoiter us and this site, or would you like to offer another explanation?”
Tom knew he was going to have to play a very delicate tightrope act here. He was going to have to take some guesses on what they knew and what they didn’t know. If he was correct, he might be able to feed them a mixture of truth and plausible lies. But he had to hope they wouldn’t catch him lying.
“You are correct. I was trying to find out what was out here and what it was for.”
“Why were you spying on us?”
“I believed, apparently correctly, that Annie was out here.”
“How did you even know of the existence and location of this facility?”
Tom saw his chance to “reveal” something to Ellen which she already knew, that her car had been tagged with a tracker. However, while he knew that she already knew about the tracker, she didn’t know that he knew.
“I didn’t know about this facility, that’s what I was trying to find out from the balloon. The online maps and photos show nothing out here but desert, yet I knew that your car was here.”
“How did you know that?”
“I had put a GPS tracker on your car.”
Ellen did her best to look surprised and shocked. “In Colorado? You were spying on me already and put a tracker on my car? That’s outrageous.”
“So is kidnapping. I guess that makes us both guilty.” Tom needed to get her back to the story he wanted her to believe. “I didn’t put the tracker on your car in Colorado, I fell for your lies there hook, line, and sinker. I put the tracker on your car here in New Mexico.”
“How did you know that it was my car?” Ellen asked.
Whatever Tom said, he did not want to say anything that might reveal the existence of Jason as his tech backup or provider of tech toys, especially when they might not yet know that he was using that level of technology.
“The lady at your store told me about your car when I showed up to meet you. Once I was here I got lucky and spotted that model and color with Colorado plates. I took a chance that it was yours. I waited until you were in a store and planted the device.”
(Chapter Twenty-One to be continued)
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 